See how paying the smallest balance first changes your debt payoff plan. This calculator pays every account’s entered minimum, directs extra money to the smallest starting balance, and rolls freed payments into the next target. It also runs avalanche with the same monthly budget.
Compare your debts
Start with the illustration below or replace it with current statement amounts. Enter separate accounts, not different rate categories on the same card.
Calculations run in your browser. This tool does not send debt labels, amounts, rates or results to analytics. The calculator area is masked from optional session replay.
Considering one payment for your debts?
Compare a consolidation loan with your current payoff plan, including fees and total cost. You can also keep your plan self-directed.
No credit check or application. Calculator entries are not transferred.
How to use this snowball calculator
- Enter each account’s current balance, annual percentage rate and monthly minimum from its statement.
- Add the amount you can afford above the combined minimums. Use zero to compare a budget equal to today’s minimums.
- Choose Compare strategies. Review time to payoff, total interest, first account payoff, and the extra-payment priority for both methods.
- Expand either schedule to see each month’s account payments, or download the CSV for your own records.
What does the sample show?
The illustration contains $500 at 10% ($25 minimum), $2,000 at 24% ($60 minimum) and $4,500 at 16% ($100 minimum). With $150 extra, both strategies use $335 a month. Snowball finishes in 26 months with $1,391.41 interest; avalanche finishes in 25 months with $1,329.01 interest. Snowball clears its first account in month 3; avalanche in month 11.
Read the step-by-step comparison and example to understand why the results differ.
Assumptions that affect your result
- All amounts are U.S. dollars. Up to 20 separate debts are supported; APRs must be between 0% and 100%.
- Interest is estimated monthly at APR ÷ 12, rounded to cents for each account. Payments occur at the end of the modeled month.
- The entered minimum for each debt stays fixed until that debt is paid. The total monthly budget stays fixed; the last payment can be smaller.
- Snowball priority uses starting balance, then higher APR for ties. Avalanche uses APR, then smaller starting balance for ties. Exact ties keep entry order.
- Minimums are paid first. Any unused payment money moves to the next priority in the same month.
- No new spending, fees, missed payments, changing rates or deferred-interest promotions are modeled. Real credit-card minimums and daily interest calculations may differ.
- If debt remains after 600 months, the tool reports an incomplete plan, not a payoff date. Extremely growing balances may stop sooner for numerical safety.
See the full methodology. Confirm final payoff amounts and payment allocation with each creditor.
Questions about the result
Why does the avalanche plan sometimes pay off a lower-priority account first?
Priority controls the extra payment. Every active account still receives its minimum; a small balance can finish from those minimums before the main target does.
Why does a balance increase?
If that account’s payment is below its estimated monthly interest, the unpaid interest increases the modeled balance. Check whether the actual required minimum is higher. The tool warns about growth and does not claim that an incomplete plan is debt-free.
Will this tell me which bill is legally or practically most urgent?
No. The model does not rank housing, essential services, secured debts, legal notices or special promotions by consequence. Make room for essentials and required obligations before choosing an extra payment. The emergency savings guide explains another part of that decision.
Sources and further reading
Put the comparison to work
Use current statements to compare both strategies with the same monthly budget.
Compare your debtsRead the strategy comparisonBalance debt payoff and savings